Is your domain set up right?

Connecting a custom domain is where many launches stall: records that point nowhere, redirect loops, a www that does not work. Check every part in seconds.

  • DNS records and which host they point to
  • HTTPS certificate, redirect chain and loops
  • www vs bare domain, and the expiry date

The usual domain problems

Nothing loads (NXDOMAIN). The records were added at the wrong place: the domain's nameservers point to a different DNS provider than the one you edited.

Too many redirects. Cloudflare's Flexible SSL and your host's HTTPS redirect send visitors in circles, or www and the bare domain redirect to each other.

www works but the bare domain does not (or the reverse), so half your visitors see an error page.

Expired domain. The card on file expired, auto-renew failed, and the site vanished.

Setting up a domain the right way

  1. Add the domain in your host's project first (Vercel, Netlify, Lovable); it shows the exact records to add.
  2. Find where your DNS is managed (the nameservers) and add the records there.
  3. Pick one main address, www or bare, and let the host redirect the other.
  4. Behind Cloudflare, set SSL/TLS to Full (strict).
  5. Turn on auto-renew with a card that will not expire soon, then check again.

Questions

How long do DNS changes take?
Usually minutes, sometimes a few hours. If nothing changes after a few hours, the records are probably at the wrong DNS provider: check the nameservers this tool shows.
Should I use www or the bare domain?
Either works. Pick one as the main address, redirect the other to it, and use the same one everywhere: your auth settings, Stripe, and your email links.
Why does the tool not show an expiry date?
Some registries do not publish it. Check it in your registrar's account, and make sure auto-renew is on.